The NCAA has told Arkansas head coach Bret Bielema that he cannot attend Michigan’s week of spring practice at Florida’s IMG Academy. Per a tweet from Bielema himself, the reason the NCAA gave was that it’s a recruiting “quiet period.”
Just found out from NCAA office we can't go to IMG open practice because in NCAA football it's a quiet period 😳
Maybe next year #Jamaica
— Bret Bielema (@BretBielema) March 3, 2016
Another day, another instance of the NCAA bureaucracy enforcing silly rules. Bielema was simply looking to attend the practice to watch coach Jim Harbaugh’s players in action, not to recruit IMG players (at least he claims so). Even Michigan State’s Mark Dantonio also expressed interest and even joked about the two getting together for lunch.
But rules are rules in the NCAA and, as a result, Bielema won’t be heading to Bradenton, even if he is an SEC coach and probably encouraged to recruit IMG in the eyes of conference higher-ups who view Harbaugh’s holding practice there as something of a territory invasion.
But like he said, next year in Jamaica, perhaps?
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*Featured Photo (above) credit to USA TODAY Sports
